Either that, or all the small bookstores will rise again in the absence of the big boys we were all complaining about 10-15 years ago.

I predict a demise of reading altogether - all information will just be absorbed via osmosis

I used to love Crown Books! Between Crown and Walden my allowance didn't stand a chance. Had no idea Crown was still around.

Because that worked so well for studying.

I was just thumbing through an old book that mentioned B. Dalton in its acknowledgements.

Sure, we all think the premise of 84 Charing Cross Road was charming--send letters to England, get books--but that was the first step to Amazon and the death of the local book store.

Same here! Crown was my favorite back in the day.

Well kiddies, times change. And it's driven by technonlogy. When I was a teen, we use to hang out at Tower Records. They were open late and you could brouse and they had the music cranked up in the store. They died out, to be replaced with the likes of Best Buy.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis just landed for the last time a little while ago, ending a 30 year mission. Now it will go into the publics hands, away from the government. It almost seems like a step backwards, but it will be interesting to see where this goes.....

On the other hand, I can connect with friends around the world, watch movies, live TV, stream live video to the world, and even make phone calls just by reaching into my pocket.

Yours is a powerful tool.